[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18665-18666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9286]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: [beta]2 
Microglobulin Fusion Proteins and High Affinity Variants

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 
CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 
Department of Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of 
an exclusive license worldwide to practice the inventions embodied in: 
U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/088,813, filed June 10, 1998; 
International Patent Application No. PCT/US99/12309, filed June 3, 1999 
(published as WO 9964597A1); and U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 09/
719,243, filed December 7, 2000; to Vaccinex, Inc., having a place of 
business in Rochester, NY. The United States of America is an assignee 
to the patent rights of these inventions.
    The contemplated exclusive license may be limited to the 
development of human therapeutics for cancer and other infectious 
diseases.

DATES: Only written comments and/or applications for a license which 
are received by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before June 
16, 2003 will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the patent application, inquiries, 
comments and other materials relating to the contemplated license 
should be directed to: Michael A. Shmilovich, J.D., Technology 
Licensing Specialist, Office of Technology Transfer, National 
Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, 
MD 20852-3804; Telephone: (301) 435-5019; Facsimile: (301) 402-0220; e-
mail: [email protected]. A signed Confidential Disclosure 
Agreement will be required to receive copies of the patent application.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The patent applications cover 
immunologically active fusion proteins of an immunogenic peptide, 
[beta]2 microglobulin or a high affinity mutant of 
[beta]2m, and an optional linker between the first and 
second domains and/or a single peptide preceding the N-terminal of the 
first domain. Expressed fusion proteins are cytotoxic CD8\+\ T 
lymphocyte (CTL) activating and enhance immunogenicity. The fusion 
proteins, the nucleic acids encoding them, and the cell lines 
expressing them have broad utility in activating CTLs in response to 
viral or tumor antigens. The fusion proteins can be used as adjuvants 
in vaccines that enhance the efficacy of viral or cancer antigen 
presentation by MHC-1 presenting cells. As a therapeutic, the fusion 
proteins can be used in vivo or ex vivo to enhance the immunogenicity 
of cancer cells.
    The prospective exclusive license will be royalty-bearing and will 
comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. 
The prospective exclusive license may be granted unless, within 60 days 
from the date of this published Notice, NIH receives written evidence 
and argument that establishes that the grant of the license would not 
be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.
    Properly filed competing applications for a license filed in 
response to this notice will be treated as objections to the 
contemplated license. Comments and objections submitted in response to 
this notice will not be made available for public inspection, and, to 
the extent permitted by law, will not be released under the Freedom of 
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.


[[Page 18666]]


    Dated: April 7, 2003.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Acting Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, 
Office of Technology Transfer.
[FR Doc. 03-9286 Filed 4-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P